One Dish Wonder - Sweet and Spicy Pork, Quinoa and Vegetables

CSA items used in this recipe:  Mixed Greens, Kohlrabi, Shiitake Mushrooms, Garlic Scapes

It's Wednesday and Week 3 of CSA.  It is still early in the season, so this week's bag was again full of lettuces, greens and kohlrabi, which was much larger this week.  I came straight home with the bag and set to work on dinner.

I started a cup of quinoa cooking in the rice cooker.  Then I sliced up a variety of vegetables, and some boneless pork.  I whipped up a stir fry sauce with pineapple preserves, ginger, tamari, chili garlic sauce, water, black pepper and cornstarch and tossed it with the cooked vegetables and pork and then mixed in the quinoa and served.  

This was my first experience with cooked kohlrabi.  It had a mild, slighty sweet taste and crispness which I liked.  The quinoa and shiitakes gave the dish such a meaty texture, that it really didn't need the pork. This would be a great vegan dish with the substitution of more mushrooms and/or tofu in place of the pork.

RECIPE: Sweet and Spicy Pork, Quinoa and Vegetables

Serves 6 as a main dish

1 c. dry Inca Red Quinoa, cooked according to package directions

1/2 c. pineapple preserves or other fruit preserves such as peach or passionfruit

3 T. tamari soy sauce

1 t. chili garlic sauce

1 t. grated fresh ginger

3 T. water

1 1/2 t. cornstarch

ground black pepper

3 T. vegetable or peanut oil

1.5 lbs. boneless pork, sliced in 1/4 inch strips

salt and pepper

1 small vidalia onion, chopped

3 garlic scapes, chopped (or 2 garlic cloves, minced)

1 c. chopped red bell pepper (about 1/2 a large pepper)

4 c. mixed greens such as swiss chard, kale and collards, hard stems removed, leaves sliced into 1 inch wide strips

1 large kohlrabi bulb, peeled and sliced 1/4 in. thick by 1/2 inch wide strips

1 c. shiitake mushrooms, slicked 1/4 inch thick

Make Stir Fry Sauce:  In a small bowl, mix preserves, tamari, chili garlic sauce, ginger, water and cornstarch.  Add ground black pepper to taste.  Set aside.

In a large nonstick wok or skillet, heat 2 T. oil over high heat (reduce heat if your stove tends to cook hot).  Salt and pepper sliced pork and add to hot skillet.  Saute until pork slices turn opaque.  Remove pork to a medium bowl and cover with foil to keep warm.

Wipe out skillet and add remaining 1 T. oil.  When oil is hot, add onions and garlic scapes and saute for 2 minutes until onions begin to soften.  Add red bell pepper and mixed greens and saute another 2 minutes until greens are wilted.  Add kohlrabi and mushrooms and saute another 2 minutes.  Drain pork and add it to pan with vegetables.  Pour stir fry sauce over pork and vegetables in skillet and mix with a large spoon to coat.  Add cooked quinoa to skillet and mix in evenly.  Remove from heat and serve.

The Asian Fusion Exclusion - UnStrawberry Orange Chicken Lettuce Wraps

CSA items used in this recipe: Garlic Scapes, Radishes, Bibb Lettuce

I have been thinking on the recipe for this post all weekend.  I wanted to use the strawberries in an Asian-inspired stir fry and I was determined it was going to work, despite the naysayings of a couple of friends, including Cynic. (Real name withheld to protect the innocent.  NOT!) I should know by now to take the advice of this wise woman as I've poo-pooed her advice before only to find myself in a mess, but as always I had to find out for myself. (Photo to the right is of Cynic and me loving on Homer.)

I have revised the recipe name from Strawberry Orange Chicken Lettuce Wraps to Orange Chicken Lettuce Wraps.  The strawberries were not terrible and there wasn't a morsel of the dish left when dinner was over.  However, I would not include them when I make this again. Although not offensive, they didn't add to the dish and they were more on the tangy side than I would have liked. I've made some other modifications to the recipe, including:

• This was the first time I cooked garlic scapes (I used them raw in the other recipes) and I found the garlic flavor is much milder when cooked.  I wanted more garlic flavor, so I have added a minced garlic clove to the recipe in addition to the two chopped garlic scapes which are all I used tonight.
• I used 2 teaspoons of grated ginger and I wish the ginger flavor had been more pronounced.  I upped the quantity to 1 tablespoon.
• I increased the number of radishes from 5 to 8.  The radishes were very mild, but added a crunchy element.
• I added only 1 tablespoon of brown sugar when I made the dish, but I was hoping for more sweetness.  I upped the amount to 2 tablespoons in the recipe.

I highly recommend this recipe with the modifications even if I did make it up myself. 

I served the lettuce wraps with Thai Kitchen Green Chile & Garlic Rice.  The coconutty sweetness of this rice side dish provided a nice counterbalance to the acid of the oranges.

RECIPE: Strawberry Orange Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Serves 4 as a Main Dish

For marinade/sauce:

2/3 c. orange juice (preferably freshly squeezed)

1 T. tamari soy sauce (or regular soy sauce, but tamari is recommended for fuller flavor)

1 t. chili garlic sauce (available in Asian section of most grocery stores - omit if you do not like spicy foods or use dried chile flakes to your taste)

1 T. cornstarch 

1 T. grated fresh ginger

1/2 t. grated orange zest (omit if not using freshly squeezed orange juice)

1/4 t. sesame oil (optional)

1 lb. boneless chicken breast, sliced in 1/4 in. slices

2 T. brown sugar

1 T. vegetable oil, peanut oil or other light oil (I used Annie's Natural's Basil Olive Oil)

2 garlic scapes, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced (use 2 cloves if not using garlic scapes)

8 small radishes sliced thinly (about 1/2 cup) - or 1/2 cup slivered almonds or water chestnuts

1/2 medium vidalia or other sweet onion, sliced in 1/4 inch strips (about 1 cup)

1/2 large red bell pepper, sliced in 1/4 inch strips (about 1 cup)

Optional: 3 T. fresh basil, sliced in thin strips

Whole bibb lettuce leaves

Sweet and Spicy Dipping Sauce (Recipe follows)

Whisk marinade ingredients together.  Slice chicken, pour half of marinade over and stir to combine.  Allow to marinate while prepping the other ingredients.

Add brown sugar to the remaining marinade and whisk with a fork to combine.  Set aside.

Chop garlic scapes, mince garlic, slice onion and red bell pepper and set aside.  Rinse and dry bibb lettuce leaves and return to refrigerator to keep crisp.  Prepare Sweet and Spicy Dipping Sauce per the recipe below.

Heat a large non-stick skillet or wok over high heat (lower temperature if your stove burns foods easily on high).  Swirl oil in hot skillet or wok.  Pour off marinade from chicken and add chicken to hot skillet a little at a time.  Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes until the chicken pieces turn white.  Add garlic, radishes, onion and peppers to the skillet with the chicken and stir fry for a couple of minutes.  Pour remaining marinade over the chicken and vegetables and stir fry another minute.  Remove from heat and toss in optional fresh basil if using.

Serve with bibb lettuce leaves for wrapping and Sweet and Spicy Dipping Sauce.

RECIPE: Sweet and Spicy Dipping Sauce

1 T. tamari

1 T. water

1 t. chili garlic sauce (use more if you like it hotter)

2 t. brown sugar

Whisk the above ingredients together.  Serve in small individual bowls as a sauce for dipping the lettuce wraps.  Increase ingredients proportionately if you want more sauce.